We've heard this concern many times, often from 'internet experts', and surprisingly even from so-called 'performance mechanics'. Read on, and you can smile to yourself knowing that when someone claims to have damaged their gearbox because of a short shifter, it's more likely they are in fact a sloppy driver.

Here's the hard truth - a gearstick is simply a lever, connecting the driver's hand to the gearbox. Any wear or damage is proportional only to the way in which it is used (or abused!), no if's, but's or maybe's about it. If you shift hard and fast (or time the clutch poorly), the synchros will wear out faster regardless of what type of shifter you have.

The GFB Short Shifter reduces the travel of the gearstick - if you reduce the throw by 20%, there is a 20% increase in the effort required to shift gears - this is the very basic principle of levers. Whilst this increase in shift effort may give the feeling that you are stressing the ‘box more by having to push the stick harder, you are in fact exerting the same shifting force to the gearbox. Additionally, the reduced throw may falsely lead the unsympathetic driver to believe faster shifts can be performed - you can only shift as fast as the synchros will allow.